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Colts Training Camp + Preseason Games

Colts camp starts tomorrow but practice starts on Thursday I think. So use this thread to post about training camp.

Here's a good preview from Stampede Blue:

With the Colts players reporting to training camp tomorrow, fans are excited about finally being able to watch the team take the field for the 2014 season, one with high hopes. As is always the case in camp, there are a few areas and players that we key in on as guys we'll be watching closely, and that's true this year as well. Here are a few of the biggest storylines for the Colts entering camp
Trent Richardson

There has been arguably no Colts player who has been more talked about this offseason than running back Trent Richardson. His play last year was bad enough that of course people would be talking, but that's only getting started on Richardson. GM Ryan Grigson staked his reputation on that trade, so it's going to receive a lot of attention for that - especially since the Colts were without a first round in this year's draft because of the trade for Richardson. And, lastly, he's entering camp as the Colts starting running back and the team still has high hopes for him. So yeah, there's a lot of attention focusing on Richardson.

The Colts hopes for Richardson aren't completely without reason, however. Firstly, last year it seemed like quite a few of the poor runs that Richardson had (and there were many) were more a failure on the part of the offensive line than on Richardson himself. The offensive line does look to be a bit improved this year, but there are still question marks. Either way, however, the Colts have hope that the struggles last year were only partly because of the running back they invested in. Secondly and perhaps more importantly, Richardson has now gone through an offseason with the Colts and he's entering a training camp with the Colts. Because he was traded early in the season last year, Richardson didn't have any time to work with the team in offseason work, camp, or preseason - the times when teams really work on implementing their offensive scheme. In the season, it's much more about game-planning for opponents, so Richardson was coming in having to try to learn the offense while also focus on the opponent and play each week. That's a lot for anyone to deal with, and Richardson even said this offseason that he learned more in the first week of voluntary workouts this year than he did all of last year. Whether or not that's hyperbole really doesn't matter - what does matter is that Richardson has now had an offseason with the team and he's entering camp with the team. Because of that, there should be significant improvement from him. All eyes will be on Richardson in camp, and for good reason. He's one of the biggest storylines entering camp.
Khaled Holmes

I mentioned that a lot of Richardson's struggles last year could be attributed to the offensive line, so the Colts took some measures to get rid of a few linemen - notably, releasing center Samson Satele and letting guard Mike McGlynn walk in free agency. The problem is that they didn't do a whole lot to try to improve it. The line should be improved just by the nature of the fact that Donald Thomas is coming back and that Hugh Thornton is entering his second year. And, just like last year, the bookends of Anthony Castonzo and Gosder Cherilus played every game and played well, and they're back this year. The real questions are on the interior, as Donald Thomas is recovering from injury and as Hugh Thornton was bad last year. The hope is that Thomas comes back quickly and that Thornton is improved - the real question along the offensive line, however, is at center. There, the Colts are going to be starting a guy with zero career starts and only a handful of career plays. There were some red flags raised about Khaled Holmes last year due to the fact that he couldn't get in the lineup even with the terrible play from Satele and injuries to Satele as well, but Holmes barely saw the field. There's really nothing wrong with the Colts planning to start their fourth round draft pick from last year. There's nothing wrong with that at all - the problem is that they don't have a backup plan. They did in Phil Costa, but, well, you know how that worked out, what with him retiring and all. Now, there's not a backup plan. The only other centers on the roster are Jonotthan Harrison and FN Lutz. While I think those two undrafted guys have potential, they have an uphill battle to even make the roster, much less step in and start if things go poorly. The bottom line is that the Colts have put all their eggs in this one basket, so to speak, and so they're counting heavily on Holmes. Too heavily for comfort, really. This isn't to say that I don't think Holmes will be good - I expect him to do a solid job this year. But he's unproven. And he's the only option the Colts have to man the interior of the unit that's supposed to protect the franchise quarterback, Andrew Luck. It's easy to see why he's a top storyline entering camp.
Safety Position

If there's one starting position on the team that's really up for grabs in camp, it's clearly the starting safety spot opposite LaRon Landry. Right now, it looks clear that the two big candidates are Delano Howell and Mike Adams, with several other guys trying to impress enough to earn the spot as well. But really, it's between Howell and Adams right now, and it's impossible to tell who will earn the job other than making a guess. Adams has the experience, with 73 career starts in 10 seasons, but Howell has the potential, with him being just 24 years old and playing well last year when he got a chance. I think Howell will probably start camp as the "first team" safety, but just because he's been around longer than Adams, who was signed just a few months ago. Regardless of what the depth chart says, however, they're pretty even and they'll be battling it out in camp and preseason for the starting spot. We talk a lot about camp battles, and for the Colts, all the battles in camp pales in significance to this one. Fans will be watching the battle for the starting safety spot, largely between Delano Howell and Mike Adams, very closely in camp and preseason.
Injured Guys!

Several key players were injured last year for the Colts and are returning this year, so naturally they'll be players that fans want to watch. There's star receiver Reggie Wayne, who tore his ACL mid-season last year and has been working furiously to come back. He'll be ready once camp starts, and it'll be great to see number 87 out there on the field again - with fans also paying attention to how the 35-year old is doing coming off of the ACL tear. Running back Vick Ballard also is coming off a torn ACL suffered early on, and the hope is that he'll be back soon as well. Fans will also be watching how he comes back. And, of course, Donald Thomas is coming off of a torn quad and the hope for him is still that he'll be ready for week one, but there's a chance he'll be placed on the PUP list too. We'll have to see with him, but that's an important thing to keep an eye on. And how can we forget Dwayne Allen, who is a crucial part to the offense? He missed most of last season as well, but he's back now and fans will love seeing Allen back out there working with the offense, and they'll look to see how Pep Hamilton is going to use him this year. Lastly, we'll be watching to see if those guys who have a history of injuries (like LaRon Landry or Greg Toler) stay healthy in camp. Injuries are always something to watch, and with the number of key players the Colts have returning from injury, seeing them get back on the field is definitely a storyline in itself.

- “He runs meetings like a coach. Basically, I’m playing with a coordinator on the field. He’s a football God. He sees everything, and he sees the big picture of everything." - Frank Gore on Andrew Luck
- "He is as smart as Peyton, as accurate as Brady, tougher than Ben and as athletic as RG3." - Anonymous Head Coach on Andrew Luck

- “He runs meetings like a coach. Basically, I’m playing with a coordinator on the field. He’s a football God. He sees everything, and he sees the big picture of everything." - Frank Gore on Andrew Luck
- "He is as smart as Peyton, as accurate as Brady, tougher than Ben and as athletic as RG3." - Anonymous Head Coach on Andrew Luck

Welcome back, Reggie Wayne. When the six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver first took the field in practice today, he was greeted by a loud cheer from the fans watching. Reggie responded with a fist pump toward the crowd, and it was just great to see number 87 out there again for the Colts after he tore his ACL in the fourth quarter of the week seven win over the Broncos last year. Of course, Reggie's first actual route of the day that he ran ended in a dropped pass, but it was his first day back, so let's cut him some slack. After that drop, however, he looked exactly like the Reggie of old. When the rest of the receivers were running routes and catching passes from the quarterbacks in an organized team drill, Reggie was running routes and catching passes one-on-one from Andrew Luck, who was rotating between the team drill and Reggie's drill. Then, a bit later in the offense-defense drill, the play of the day for the offense involved Wayne. Reggie ran down the left sideline, covered by Darius Butler. Luck let go a perfect pass that went right over Butler's head/arms and into Reggie's hands. It was beautiful, and it showed something that I saw as practice went on, too: Luck and Reggie have their timing down, despite the fact that Reggie missed half of last season. It was great just because Reggie Wayne was back on the field today, but it was even better because he looked really good. Granted, he did appear to be limited a bit, as in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 it seemed like Reggie wasn't in as much, but that's to be expected.

The star of the day? Probably T.Y. Hilton. Hilton was all over today. According to George Bremer, Hilton had 10 catches with the first team offense, leading the way. His timing with Andrew Luck appears even better than that of Reggie Wayne and the quarterback, which is saying a lot. Hilton made plenty of great plays, but his best one today came on a pass that, ironically, was a bad one from Luck. Luck underthrew Hilton on a deep sideline route, and Greg Toler got in front of the receiver and tipped the pass up in the air. Toler fell down and Hilton grabbed the pass out of the air on the tip before tripping over Toler. It was an impressive that Hilton didn't give up on the play and made a nice catch too.

Greg Toler: Speaking of Greg Toler, I actually thought he had nice coverage today. I thought he looked good and he was playing the number one corner spot because Vontae Davis wasn't practicing. Toler looked pretty good, I thought.

Bjoern Werner had himself a very nice day as well. Seeing increased snaps because of Robert Mathis's impending suspension, Werner had a couple of passes batted at the line of scrimmage that ended in two pick-sixes for the defense. On the first, Werner batted Luck's pass at the line and then picked it off before lateraling to D'Qwell Jackson for the score. On the other, he batted a Matt Hasslebeck pass to Cory Redding, who took it to the end zone to score. Interestingly, it seemed like Werner was often playing with his hand in the ground at essentially a defensive end position. I wonder if that's why Werner showed such good burst, pass deflecting skills, and good pass rush overall? Either way, Werner had a good day and whatever the Colts were doing with Werner today looked like it was working - something to keep watching.

OLB Balance: Along those same lines, the Colts have a very interesting balance that they are trying to find right now with Werner and Mathis. Mathis won't play the first four games, but he'll be back after that, so he does need to get work in camp. But Werner needs work as well, and he'll be starting the first four games and playing a lot after that too. Today, the Colts played Werner with the first team defense and he got a lot of snaps there, while Mathis subbed in some with the first team and played some with the second team too. We'll see how they continue to handle that.

Dwayne Allen is back! It was also great to see Dwayne Allen back, and it's clear that he's going to be a major part in the offense. His first big play of the day came early, in position drills, when he was covered by Delano Howell. Howell had great coverage on the play and was all over Allen - but the big tight end still hauled in the pass for a great catch. He had a couple of nice catches today and showed the receiving potential that he has, and he was in on most of the first team offense's snaps.

Punt Returners: Because the kick and punt return spots are really undecided right now, we're paying close attention to those. Today, Griff Whalen, Donte Moncrief, Chris Rainey, Ryan Lankford, and T.Y. Hilton all spent time returning and fielding punts. Interestingly, however, the first four I mentioned were the ones working during practice during the punt team session while Hilton was on the sidelines with guys like Reggie Wayne, Trent Richardson, and others, just watching. The only time Hilton fielded punts was before practice started. It's something to watch, but the job might not be given to Hilton as automatically as we thought entering camp. Again, it might be nothing, but it appears that the Colts still might not want to use Hilton as punt returner. Something to pay attention to.

Adam Vinatieri had a bit of a rough day, hitting from 23, 28, 33, 41, and 43 yards out but missing from 38, 48, and 48 yards. That said, later on in practice, he hit the practice-ending field goal. The Colts had 18 seconds on the clock and no timeouts, and Luck and the offense hurried and completed a pass before frantically running off as the field goal unit frantically scrambled on, getting the kick off with about 2 seconds left on the clock and making it, ending practice. There's nothing to worry about with Vinatieri. Nothing.

Mario Harvey definitely looks the part at fullback. But it's clear that he's a blocking fullback, not a receiving fullback. He had a couple of drops on easy passes today. With the team only in shells we weren't able to really see what Harvey can bring to the table, but we knew coming in that he's a blocking fullback while Stanley Havili is a receiving fullback. With the plethora of receiving targets for the Colts at receiver and tight end, the need for a receiving fullback is diminished - which favors Harvey. We'll be watching him more as contact begins to ramp up a bit.

Impressive Receivers? Another, besides Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton, who looked good today was Eric Thomas. Thomas had a great fake on a route that left Colt Anderson completely clueless, and then later in practice he made a couple grabs. Also, it seemed like Josh Lenz saw quite a bit of reps today, so it seems that the team likes him too.

The Griffer! Of course, we'd be remiss to have a training camp article talking receivers without talking about Griff Whalen, who picked up right where he left off last year in camp by catching everything thrown his way. He had a couple of nice grabs and a couple of nice routes run. Basically, Whalen was very impressive once again. And as I was watching him, I was thinking about how the Colts absolutely can find and create ways to use him and his skills to help them in games. He doesn't have the athleticism or natural ability as some of the other guys, but if the Colts really want to use him, they absolutely can and he'd succeed. It's just that they'd need to utilize certain routes to help him get open - because if he's anywhere close to open and the pass is thrown anywhere near him, he's gonna catch it.

Center Update: Jonotthan Harrison had a rough day today, with a fumbled exchange between him and Chandler Harnish and then a few plays later a low snap to Harnish. It was a little rough. As for the center position, early on in practice Khaled Holmes, Harrison, FN Lutz, and Jack Mewhort worked on snapping, which was interesting considering the fact that the Colts wanted to start Mewhort off playing guard. Later on in the 11-on-11 part of practice, Donald Thomas was playing with the second team and Matt Hasslebeck at center some, which was also interesting. Basically, what I gathered is that the Colts will figure to keep just one center on the team and will try to make sure that guys like Mewhort and Thomas have experience snapping in case they're needed - much like Mike McGlynn did last year.

The least impressive player of the day? Da'Rick Rogers. The most impressive player of the day was a receiver (T.Y. Hilton), though there were several good options to choose from. The least impressive player of the day was also a receiver, and this time it was a pretty easy call to make - it was Da'Rick Rogers. A fan-favorite who struggled with his route running and was raw last season, Rogers had a terrible start to camp today. In wide receiver drills he dropped two passes, although one of them could have been placed on Andrew Luck - especially considering the quarterback's reaction to the throw (he wasn't happy). Still, with no defense, I thought it was one an NFL receiver could have made, but that might be too harsh. Either way, he had another bad drop. Then, in team drills later on, Rogers dropped a pass that he had to reach up to try to grab, and he looked a little shaken up after doing so, though nothing major. Also, there were a couple of times where I was specifically watching Rogers (to see if his route running has improved at all, because if not he might very well not make the roster), but I couldn't tell because he hardly ran at all. He was essentially just walking because the play was going to the other side of the field. I didn't want to be too hard on Rogers, though, so I started paying closer attention to the other receivers to see if they were doing the same, and it was clear that they weren't. Everybody was giving their all on almost every play, but multiple times Rogers was doing little more than walking when the play wasn't to him. He was acting like he was guaranteed a roster spot, and if he keeps acting like that, he's going to be looking for another team. Look, it's just one practice. DON'T OVERREACT. But based on one day, Da'Rick Rogers has had a rough start to camp.

Let's talk lineups. It's just the first day of camp, I get it, but let's talk about who was working with the first team offense and defense today. First, the offense. Anthony Castonzo, Donald Thomas, Khaled Holmes, Hugh Thornton, and Gosder Cherilus were the first team offensive line, which was no surprise - but it was really great to see Thomas out there working. Dwayne Allen was clearly the first team tight end, but when running a two tight end offense Coby Fleener was in there too. When in a two tight end set, it was Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton on the field at receiver. Trent Richardson was the first team running back and, when the team used a fullback, it was Mario Harvey, of course. Oh, and Andrew Luck was the first team QB. Defensively, the first team defensive line seemed to most often be (and there was much more shuffling on defense than there was on offense in terms of who was out there with first team) Cory Redding, Josh Chapman, and Arthur Jones. At linebacker, it was Jerrell Freeman and D'Qwell Jackson inside and Bjoern Werner and Erik Walden were outside linebackers - though, as mentioned, Mathis was in there some. Greg Toler and Darius Butler were the two first team cornerbacks with Vontae Davis out, and with LaRon Landry out today Delano Howell and Sergio Brown were the two first team safeties. Mike Adams worked with the second team, which is understandable considering he's been with the team for much less time, and both Howell and Brown actually looked pretty good at safety today.

DNP: The only players not practicing today, other than Stanley Havili (who is on the PUP list), were safety LaRon Landry and cornerback Vontae Davis. All three of those players were on the far practice field doing some running and basic drills during practice, but none were practicing. Landry and Davis were held out for "precautionary reasons" and should be back soon, but they missed mandatory minicamp and it's fair to wonder, because Ryan Grigson fully expected them to be back by camp when he spoke then. Especially with Landry, I can imagine the team isn't too thrilled that he didn't participate at all in the Colts offseason work, showed up to mandatory minicamp and failed his physical, and then wasn't ready to start camp. With Davis, he has a groin injury I believe, and that's always a little discomforting, and with all the money the Colts paid to him this offseason, I know they'd love him to be out there too.

Looks like TY is on the verge of becoming an elite WR. Also Griff > Rogers after day 1.

Last edited by sfgiants1213; 07-24-2014 at 08:12 PM.

#JoergerBomb

<3

- “He runs meetings like a coach. Basically, I’m playing with a coordinator on the field. He’s a football God. He sees everything, and he sees the big picture of everything." - Frank Gore on Andrew Luck
- "He is as smart as Peyton, as accurate as Brady, tougher than Ben and as athletic as RG3." - Anonymous Head Coach on Andrew Luck

I dont think Griff or Rogers will matter soon. I think Moncrief will be our 3/4th WR and future starter/stud.

Wayne's 35 coming off serious injury, Hilton was hurt a lot last year, Nicks has the 'injury prone' label. While Moncrief has a spot, the other WR spot is pretty important.

#JoergerBomb

<3

- “He runs meetings like a coach. Basically, I’m playing with a coordinator on the field. He’s a football God. He sees everything, and he sees the big picture of everything." - Frank Gore on Andrew Luck
- "He is as smart as Peyton, as accurate as Brady, tougher than Ben and as athletic as RG3." - Anonymous Head Coach on Andrew Luck

I still can't believe no one has ever picked up Griff all the times we put him on waivers. I can't think of a team that doesn't want a slot WR. Sure he isn't going to catch 100+ and go for 1k and 10 TDs....but on a team that isn't stacked with pass catchers going 3-4 deep at WR and at least 2 deep at TE plus multiple running backs and FBs that can also catch he could be a good 40-50 possession slot...the guy gets first downs and in his short playing time he just seems like a smart player who knows when he should sit down in a pocket and get the 1st.

- “He runs meetings like a coach. Basically, I’m playing with a coordinator on the field. He’s a football God. He sees everything, and he sees the big picture of everything." - Frank Gore on Andrew Luck
- "He is as smart as Peyton, as accurate as Brady, tougher than Ben and as athletic as RG3." - Anonymous Head Coach on Andrew Luck

Maybe I'm wrong but I thought he got banged up a lot during the games... Missing games doesn't always mean that a player isn't hurt.

#JoergerBomb

<3

- “He runs meetings like a coach. Basically, I’m playing with a coordinator on the field. He’s a football God. He sees everything, and he sees the big picture of everything." - Frank Gore on Andrew Luck
- "He is as smart as Peyton, as accurate as Brady, tougher than Ben and as athletic as RG3." - Anonymous Head Coach on Andrew Luck

Colts owner Jim Irsay made his first appearance at training camp practice Friday afternoon. How much longer Irsay will remain around the team is one of the NFL's biggest questions out there. Irsay said, "There's nothing to report," when asked if he's talked to Roger Goodell. The NFL commissioner has maintained the stance that he's going to let Irsay's issues play out before deciding how he'll discipline him. Irsay was charged with one count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a C misdemeanor, and one count of operating a vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in the body, also a C misdemeanor, after being arrested in March. He has a pre-trial hearing set for Monday and a bench trial date of Aug. 28.

Running back Trent Richardson, rookie offensive lineman Jack Mewhort, safety LaRon Landry and cornerback Vontae Davis did not practice Friday. Richardson and Mewhort didn't practice for precautionary reasons, according to coach Chuck Pagano. Landy and Davis have yet to practice in training camp. "[Landry and Davis have] got a couple of nagging soft tissue injuries, so like I said before, we're going to be smart with our guys that are coming back off of injury."

The defense, which was inconsistent last season, outplayed the offense in practice Friday. Defensive backs Marcus Burley, Mike Adams and Loucheiz Purifoy all had interceptions in practice. The play by the defense followed impressive play from the unit Thursday in which it returned two interceptions for touchdowns. Practice should be even more interesting between the two sides Saturday because the Colts will have their first practice in pads.

Irsay did spend time talking about the expectations surrounding the team this season. The Colts have made the playoffs the past two seasons, including winning the AFC South last season. Their goals, like every other team in the league, is much higher this season. "Well, I really think we have the mindset to win a championship and that this group isn't afraid to shy down from the lofty goal that that is," he said. "And with the group we have here and with Andrew [Luck] really being seasoned now and doing such amazing things in only two years, everyone understands the expectations. You know when you have a great player like Andrew at quarterback that everyone's going to set the bar high for achievement. So we won the division, we won a playoff game, and now it's just a question of trying to get deeper. But the first goal, of course, is to try to win the division, and that's going to be tough."

- “He runs meetings like a coach. Basically, I’m playing with a coordinator on the field. He’s a football God. He sees everything, and he sees the big picture of everything." - Frank Gore on Andrew Luck
- "He is as smart as Peyton, as accurate as Brady, tougher than Ben and as athletic as RG3." - Anonymous Head Coach on Andrew Luck

Missing games is all that matters. Its a 16 game NFL season. Everyone gets beatup. Missing time is the measuring point there. Remember Injured vs hurt. Not the same thing. One you can play with and its no issue.

Missing games is all that matters. Its a 16 game NFL season. Everyone gets beatup. Missing time is the measuring point there. Remember Injured vs hurt. Not the same thing. One you can play with and its no issue.

And it's better to have good WR depth because he can get injured.

#JoergerBomb

<3

- “He runs meetings like a coach. Basically, I’m playing with a coordinator on the field. He’s a football God. He sees everything, and he sees the big picture of everything." - Frank Gore on Andrew Luck
- "He is as smart as Peyton, as accurate as Brady, tougher than Ben and as athletic as RG3." - Anonymous Head Coach on Andrew Luck